ants or retainers--it would seem not unlikely to lawyers or
students of the law, possibly their own men of business. This is no mere
theory or guesswork. There has been too much conjecture about the early
history of Gray's Inn, and the sober-minded topographer is warned off at
the outset by a number of inconsistent assertions as to the early
existence here of a school of law. Dugdale tells us that the manor was
granted to the Priory of Shene in the reign of Henry VII., and after the
dissolution it was rented by a society of students of the law. A
fictitious list of Readers goes back to the reign of Edward III., but
will not bear critical examination. The lawyers paid a rent of L6 13s.
4d. to Henry VIII., and this charge passed into private hands by grant
of Charles II. The lawyers bought it from the heir of the first grantee,
and since 1733 have enjoyed the Inn rent-free. The opening into Holborn
was made on the purchase by the society, in 1594, of the Hart on the
Hoop, which then belonged to Fulwood, whose name is commemorated by
Fulwood's Rents, now nearly wiped out by a station of the Central London
Railway.

The chief entrance is by the archway in Holborn. In 1867 the old brick
arch was beplastered, obliterating a reminiscence of Dickens, who makes
David Copperfield and Dora lodge over it. A narrow road leads into South
Square, the north side of which is formed by the hall and library. The
houses round the east and south sides are of uniform design, with
handsome doorways. The hall has been much "restored," but was originally
built in the reign of Queen Mary. It has a modern Gothic porch, carved
with the griffin, which forms the coat armour of the Inn.

The interior of the hall has been renovated, having been much injured
in 1828, when the exterior was covered with stucco. The brick front is
again visible, and the panelling and roof within are of carved oak.
There are coats of arms in the windows, and on the walls hang portraits
of Charles I., Charles II., James II., and the two Bacons--father and
son--Sir Nicholas and Viscount St. Albans, who are the chief legal
luminaries of the "ancient and honourable society." The library, modern,
adjoins on the east, and contains a collection of important records and
printed books on law.

Passing through an arch at the western end of the hall, we enter Gray's
Inn Square, formerly Chapel Court. The chapel is close to the library on
the north side, and opens into Gray's Inn Sq